Grand Duke, Please Stop Obsessing Over Your Wife! - Chapter 64

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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64.

⟡Chapter 15⟡

Conditions of Love

When was the last time I smiled with genuine happiness?

I used to smile a lot before Father passed away.

But what about after Father’s death? I tried not to smile too brightly about everything.

Even when I was giggling with Anna Rose, whenever I noticed myself doing so, I would immediately stop laughing.

‘I resemble Papa too much.’

Especially my smiling face.

I couldn’t bear the sadness that crossed Mother’s face every time she saw her daughter’s dimples. So that day when I saw the Duke and Aurora seemed to be the first time in a long while that I had smiled genuinely.

‘Of all things, why did he have to ask me to show him that smile again? I don’t usually smile like that anyway.’

I asked the Duke to show me Aurora again, but the effect was minimal.

Aurora was still beautiful.

But Annelize couldn’t focus entirely on the scenery because she was conscious of her own expression.

‘I need to smile from genuine happiness. To the point where I’m not even aware of what expression I’m making in that moment.’

It seemed the Duke had caught on to her worrying.

The Duke placed his hand on top of her head.

“There’s no need to rush. I’ll wait until you’re ready.”

The Duke’s words were gentle. Annelize also knew that the Duke wouldn’t pressure her.

Still, the uncomfortable feeling in a corner of Annelize’s heart didn’t disappear.

After all, this was a contract, and the Duke was fulfilling his obligations to her. Excessively so.

So she had to reciprocate from her side too. A sense of debt was building up in her heart.

‘Maybe I’m more likely to smile when I defeat the Crown Prince or when I make the Third Prince emperor?’

That was also the biggest reason she had started this contract marriage with the Duke in the first place.

Then it would be better to do something rather than just worrying about it now.

‘If that doesn’t work either, I’ll think about it when the time comes.’

“Then I’ll go talk to Anna Rose about the founding festival too. Please rest, Your Grace.”

“Alright.”

The Duke’s hand gently stroked the top of Annelize’s head.

Annelize turned her head, trying not to look at the Duke’s retreating figure.

In front of the room where the Third Prince was staying.

“Anna Rose, I’m coming in?”

She knocked before entering, but it was quiet inside.

Finally, when Annelize opened the door and entered the room.

“Anna Rose, are you right now…?”

She gaped at the scene before her eyes.

The unconscious Third Prince Iskassian in a half-dressed state. And Anna Rose lying on top of him as if pouncing.

‘Things are progressing faster than I thought. Even though they’re going to marry anyway, is this okay?’

Should she not trust her younger sister’s self-control?

Just as she was wondering if she should say something, Anna Rose screamed with a bright red face.

“I know what you’re thinking, but it’s a misunderstanding!”

* * *

Just a few minutes before Annelize entered the Third Prince’s room.

The Third Prince of the Holy Empire, Iskassian Hildegard, opened his eyes feeling pain in his chest.

‘When was my last memory? I was definitely going through the forest…’

He was almost at his destination, and he could see the tall spire of the monastery beyond the tall trees.

‘The abbot of Aldeon Monastery is Mother’s close friend. If I go there, she’ll surely help me.’

Just a little more…

But his physical condition was deteriorating in real time.

‘Fortunately, there was someone in nun’s clothing, so I asked for help. I remember.’

The moment Iskassian grabbed her.

A strong impact hit his solar plexus without any chance to avoid it.

‘Damn. Those movements weren’t ordinary. Was I caught by a mercenary? I don’t remember anything after that. Where is this place?’

It was an unfamiliar ceiling. The fabric touching his body wasn’t a texture familiar to him.

‘I hope I wasn’t caught by Ramiere.’

He needed to assess the situation quickly. His heart beat rapidly.

Iskassian forced his eyes open while tense.

“Oh my!”

Large black eyes looked down at him. Curly light brown hair was disheveled here and there.

A round face with delicate features packed into it.

He immediately thought of an animal she resembled.

‘A squirrel…’

She looks like a squirrel.

“Who, who-“

Iskassian spoke with a hoarse voice.

The cute girl who appeared to be his age was holding a dagger in her hand. The blade of the dagger was pointed toward his chest.

‘Damn. An assassination.’

Iskassian grasped the situation instantly.

It seemed he had fallen into Ramiere’s hands after all. There was no way Kukseo would let him live.

This girl was an assassin who had come to kill him.

‘Damn. Ramiere Valiem. How did he know my taste? To make me let my guard down and lose my mind! Does he think I’ll fall for this!’

Actually, he was falling for it a bit.

Ever since he was in the desert kingdom, Iskassian had been constantly threatened with assassination.

For the reason of being the child of the only man the Emperor had ever loved.

He was already sick and tired of encounters with bearded, muscular assassins.

Iskassian resigned himself. He was also skeptical about whether he could live to see thirty.

‘Still, if I’m going to die anyway, it’s better to be killed by a cute squirrel-like girl assassin.’

It was a better ending than he had expected.

‘Damn. She’s really cute. Her eyes are like black beans.’

Before dying, couldn’t he at least see his ideal type’s face closer up one last time?

He reached out his hand.

And grabbed the girl assassin’s hand, pulling her closer.

“Ah!”

She was startled and fell forward.

The girl assassin’s elbow flowed like water and struck Iskassian’s heart.

He felt a sharp stimulus in his heart.

At the same time, the girl assassin’s face came close enough that he could feel her breath.

“Kyaak!”

Even her voice is cute.

Iskassian couldn’t tell if the pain in his heart was because of her adorable face and cute voice, or because of the elbow pressing on his heart.

Because he lost consciousness before he could think further.

* * *

“I was trying to rewrap his bandages, but when he opened his eyes… he suddenly grabbed me and pulled me over.”

Anna Rose moved frantically. Her wrist was still caught in Iskassian’s grip.

“I was so surprised that I couldn’t keep my balance and ended up falling on his chest. Maybe… I might have accidentally hit his heart with my elbow without realizing it.”

“So then His Highness the Third Prince made an ‘ugh’ sound and lost consciousness again.”

Annelize understood the situation.

No matter how she looked at it, it seemed like Anna Rose had knocked out the Third Prince.

“I, I’ve already attacked royalty twice now, what should I do? Won’t I be executed for the crime of assaulting royalty?”

“I always thought I’d be the one arrested for assaulting royalty. I was wrong.”

“Sister!”

Anna Rose made a tearful face at her overly calm attitude.

“It’s okay, Anna Rose. You saved His Highness the Third Prince’s life. What’s the big deal about hitting him once or twice? If you explain that it was for treatment, he’ll understand.”

Anna Rose looked relieved at Annelize’s words. Still, she appeared dejected.

“Is it really okay for me to keep taking care of His Highness the Third Prince? Unlike at the monastery, now there are maids from the Duke’s castle, and you’re here too, Sister. I don’t think I’m much help with nursing patients.”

“Well, seeing how he’s still holding your wrist, I think he likes you.”

Annelize approached the Third Prince and carefully tried to remove his hand from her sister’s wrist.

After several attempts, she gave up. Every time she tried to remove it, the Third Prince would furrow his brow and groan.

Instead, Annelize brought her a chair and sat beside it.

‘Trying to give up already just because you knocked him out once. Anna Rose, have courage.’

Anna Rose had to stay close to the Third Prince no matter what. That was right.

The power of 「Manifestation」 naturally infused her voice.

“Anna Rose. Our beloved little sister.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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